


Pine in a Palace Alone

by Mara



Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-02 23:36:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2830139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/pseuds/Mara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Antonio is frustrated and Jayden is stubborn. Surprise!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pine in a Palace Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenRiley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenRiley/gifts).



> An Alpha 2014 treat :)

Antonio understood right away. Heck, it could be argued he'd understood all along, although it had been more...theoretical than anything.

Oh yeah, Antonio understood as soon as he saw Jayden again that what he'd been feeling was love and a general desire to never ever be without Jayden again. He'd thought so, but it was hard to be certain, since they'd last seen each other as little kids. 

Then he was standing in that clearing, looking at an astonished Jayden, who'd grown up handsome and strong and even more wonderful than he remembered. Everything he learned about Jayden in the coming weeks only cemented his belief that Jayden was the most amazing person in the world.

Antonio definitely understood. The one tiny impediment in the path to true happiness with Jayden was...Jayden. 

Jayden was thrilled to see him back, of course, and always happy to see him, whether it was in battle or joining the team at the mansion for dinner. But...anything more than that seemed impossible.

He should have kissed Jayden that first day in the clearing, Antonio thought.

* * *

First, there was Ji taking away his morpher and Jayden not backing him up. Okay, that was all a big misunderstanding and it got cleared up, but Antonio was still a little hurt.

And Jayden's ridiculous fight with Deker. His _obsession_ with the half-Nighlok, if Antonio was honest with himself, was painful to watch. More painful than his own obsession with Jayden, he thought with wry amusement.

Beyond the broad strokes of their life as Power Rangers, there were a lot of smaller moments.

"Jay!" Antonio called, ducking his head into the living room. "There you are!"

"Hey," Jayden said with his easy, yet reserved, smile.

"Quiet day so far. I thought maybe I could show off one of my favorite fishing spots, get in a little relaxation."

"That's a great idea. Let me get the others." And Jayden was brushing past him on the way out.

"Oh." Antonio said to the empty room. "That wasn't quite what I had in mind."

* * *

A few days later, Jayden was sitting in the kitchen eating oatmeal when Antonio wandered in.

"Morning," Antonio said, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl. "Is that plain oatmeal?"

"Hmm?" Jayden looked up, adorably confused.

"Not even raisins? Cinnamon? Cream? I think you can afford the calories." Antonio bit into the apple, sliding into a seat across the table.

Jayden shook his head. "I like plain oatmeal."

"That's because you're brainwashed, dude. You and Kevin with your boring healthy food."

"Boring?" Jayden frowned.

"I need to cook for you."

"You do."

"Sure, I grill fish for the team, but I mean really cook for you."

"I'm not following."

"When this is all over, I'll make meals for you so good, you'll want to cry. My strawberry shortcake..." Antonio kissed his fingers in the most exaggerated fashion.

Spoon dropping into the bowl with a clatter, Jayden stood. "I need...I have things to do." He almost threw the bowl into the sink and dashed out.

Antonio stared after him. "Y'know," he said. "A guy could get a complex from this."

* * *

Training...well, it was kind of a tease, Antonio thought. Jayden was never more beautiful than when he was moving and when they were sparring, not only was Antonio allowed to stare at Jayden, he was _supposed_ to stare at him.

At least he'd figured out how to stop drooling, right? But really, that one time it was especially hot and Jayden decided to take off his shirt in order to stretch...even Emily had been covertly staring, so maybe nobody noticed him.

Training was definitely a tease, though, because he could look all he wanted but he couldn't touch. Not just because other people were watching, but also because Jayden was still a lot better than him.

Today, however, was a very special day. Not only were they sparring alone, but Antonio had convinced Jayden that they needed hand-to-hand practice.

Antonio circled slowly to the left, trying to catch some sign of what Jayden was going to do. That shoulder twitch was absolutely a trick and Antonio ignored it. Same with the fingers that briefly balled into a fist and then relaxed.

Antonio tried a feint forward but Jayden ignored that in turn.

A few more steps left and the most miniscule lean and Antonio dodged...right into Jayden's kick, which knocked him back a few inches. He used the backward motion to spin and bring his own leg around, but Jayden blocked that easily.

A flurry of kicks and punches followed, with Antonio barely able to catch his breath. He caught Jayden with a spin kick he'd adapted from a Jackie Chan movie but was caught in turn by a foot sweeping his legs out from under him.

In an instant, Jayden had pinned his arms to the floor and was grinning down from a few inches away, chest heaving a bit. "Got you."

Antonio tried to knock Jayden off, but he couldn't. "Indeed you do." Grinning back, adrenaline pumping, Antonio couldn't resist. "Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?"

Jayden's grin dropped and he stared down at Antonio. His breath was still too fast, but now it looked like fear rather than excitement. "That's enough for now," he said, almost flinging himself backward off Antonio and out of the room.

Pushing himself to a sitting position, Antonio hung his head between his knees. It was clearly time to man up and talk to Jayden. Time to face the fact that Jayden didn't love him the same way.

* * *

Standing just outside Jayden's rooms, Antonio took several deep breaths. The message from Jayden was clear, but he needed to hear it spoken aloud before he could resign himself. There shouldn't be any confusion between them, even if it was going to break his heart a little bit.

Antonio needed his best friend, even if his best friend wasn't in love with him, and it was time to tell him that.

"Jay, have you got a sec?"

Jayden looked up from his book. "Of course." He gestured for Antonio to sit down.

"I..." Now that the time had come, Antonio found himself desperate to delay for just another minute. But he took a breath and dove in. "I've been dancing around this for a while, but I need to say it clearly: I'm in love with you."

Jayden didn't move. It wasn't entirely clear if he was breathing.

Despite his stomach rebelling, Antonio went on. He needed to get this over with so he could go be sick somewhere else. "I was trying to be subtle, but I think I just confused everything. So now I'm asking outright: Do you, can you love me the same way? If you're not interested, if you like girls, if you just don't want me...say so. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Jayden didn't speak. Standing, he paced over to the window.

"Talk to me," Antonio said. "I'll be your best friend forever no matter what you say, but give me some idea what you're thinking."

"It's not—" Jayden leaned on the sill. "It's not that easy."

"What? Talking? Loving you? That one's always been easy for me."

"Losing you."

Antonio blinked. Then blinked again. "Okay, I'm gonna need another clue."

"Losing you the first time was hard enough." It sounded like the words were being strangled on the way out. "Losing you again...I can't."

Antonio came to stand right behind him, wanting to grab him in a big hug, but knowing it was a terrible idea. "You're never going to lose me. I mean, I'll go away from time to time, 'cause the water's gonna call me, but I'll always come back."

"Not that."

"Then..."

Jayden whirled. "What if you die?" he demanded. "What if all of you die? We're fighting demons from _hell_ and they're determined to kill you. You want to talk about after and I _can't_."

Antonio stared at him. "Okay, let's take a few steps back."

Jayden visibly calmed himself in a way that Antonio found slightly terrifying. Finally Jayden nodded.

"I love you and—" Antonio cut himself off. "Let's start there. I love you. Do you love me? And don't," he said hastily, knowing his friend too well, "say something about loving me like a brother. You know what I mean."

Jayden was still as a statue for long enough that Antonio started to worry he'd broken him. "I...Yes. I love you." His voice was soft, but clear.

Antonio made himself stand still instead of jumping for joy. "Okay. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Yes. That."

"You want that?" Antonio had to prod, to be sure. 

"Yes, I want that."

"I want to marry you and then adopt and raise a bunch of ridiculously adorable Shiba heirs." 

Jayden apparently couldn't help the grin that he quickly forced back. "I want that too."

"So far so good." Antonio took a breath. "I love you and I’m willing to take the chance that something horrible might happen. Because if you died tomorrow, I would regret every moment I wasn't with you."

Jayden stared at him and Antonio used every ounce of self-control he had to wait, looking into Jayden's eyes and willing him to understand.

"I..." Jayden closed his eyes. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You can. You're the strongest person I know."

Opening his eyes again, Jayden spoke carefully. "I love you, Antonio. Will you please stay with me?"

"Of course, mi amor."

Two steps forward and Jayden awkwardly opened his arms. Antonio threw himself into those arms, holding as tightly as he could until Jayden laughed. Then before Antonio could second-guess it, he kissed Jayden and it was everything he'd wanted, even before he knew what that was.

"Please don't die," Jayden said softly when they broke the kiss.

"I'll do my best."

"Well, your best is pretty good."

Antonio stared at him, scandalized. "Pretty good? I'll have you know my best is always golden."

Jayden laughed and Antonio just grinned at him, then stole another kiss. Hey, he'd gotten Jayden to laugh and now he could kiss him. Damn good work for one day, Antonio decided.

\--end--


End file.
